Learning God's Word One Verse at a Time

This was after I had both my legs operated on. I told everyone I went in to have my lips done. LOL!

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work,
that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. James 1:2-4, NKJV

Do you count it "all joy" when you fall into various trials? It's not an easy thing to do is it? It's hard to find joy when it seems like your life is falling apart. I speak from experience. I have had my fair share of trials. From a tumour the size of a grapefruit, to an incurable disease, to mistakes by doctors and a fall down a flight of stairs that left me partially disabled - I am, according to the above verse, to count those trials as "all joy". Seems a bit much to ask, but look at who wrote those words. James, the brother of Jesus, whose death is debated even to this day, prayed so much on his knees that they became calloused and hard. Some commentaries say he was stoned to death because he refused to deny the Lord. Others say he was beheaded. Either way, he endured his fair share of persecution as did the rest of the Apostles. Peter was crucified upside down on a cross. The Apostle John was boiled in oil - survived! - and was then exiled to the Island of Patmos where he would write the book of the Revelation. The Apostle Paul endured prison, snake bites, whippings, beatings, and shipwrecks. Knowing the extreme persecution each new believer faced, James still asked us to count our trials as "all joy" because they are necessary for us to grow in our faith. When our faith is tested we learn patience.

But we need to, as James suggests, let patience have it's perfect work. If we only look at our trials and all the bad things that seem to keep happening to us, our focus gets really distorted. We become depressed when nothing positive happens in our lives. We become discouraged, and if we don't see the real reason for our trials, we might even begin to doubt that God even loves us. Trials, sickness, hardships, call it what you will, if you are enduring them and you don't look at their ultimate purpose for your life, you will not count them as all joy.

The Apostle James believed that if we let patience have its perfect work, we will be perfect and complete, equipped with what we need as a follower of Christ and as a witness to others. Patience isn't just exhibited however, by how calm you are while waiting in a line of cars, or at the grocery store checkout. Patience, in Greek, is hypomonē, and literally means steadfastness, constancy or endurance. Strong's Concordance actually says, "In the NT the characteristic of a man who is not swerved from his deliberate purpose and his loyalty to faith and piety by even the greatest trials and sufferings."

So how loyal are you? If you are going through trials at all, ask yourself - are you ready to endure what comes your way and remain faithful to God no matter what? Even if what comes your way isn't something that you would identify as overtly "faith" related? Trials and sufferings don't come only in the form of persecution of your faith. They come as a testament to your faith. How you react to them will say a lot about your faith and trust in God. If they seem to be never-ending (as in my case) don't get discouraged. God allows hardships for a reason. I wholeheartedly believe that when my trials started God allowed them to "perfect" me and now, many years later as I've learned to live with an incurable disease as well as a disability, I wonder when the "perfecting" will be done. But, I then remembered that the Apostle Paul once begged for release from God over a thorn in his flesh. It wasn't a literal thorn. But it was an ailment that he asked God to heal. But God said no, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness," and Paul moved on with that answer, accepting that God was using it for a reason. So following Paul's example, I believe God is using my trials for a reason as well. If more trials come I simply see it as more tests for my faith, because I firmly believe that God does not allow us to be tested unless He is positive we will come through it still faithful to Him, thereby bringing glory to His name. And that is why James says we can count it all joy, because when we remain faithful to God during trials and yes, even tragedies, God is glorified. So whether we recognize it or not, our suffering is for a greater purpose.

Like it or not suffering, sickness and pain are a fact of life, but for the Christian they are meant as an opportunity to let God's glory shine through. So embrace your suffering, your pain - whatever it is - and see it not as something that is meant to defeat you, but as something that is meant to make your life a testament to God's glory.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him,
and without Him nothing was made that was made.In Him was life,
and the life was the light of men.And the light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness did not comprehend it.
John 1:1-5, NKJV

In Hebrew The Word is translated as The D'var Hashem which means "The Word of God." So The Word of God was with God and the Word of God was God. He was with God in the beginning. But how is it that The Word of God, The D'var Hashem is a He? How can all things be made through the Word? How can this Word be life and the light of all mankind? This is possible because The Word referred to in the verse above is not the written word or scripture, but The Word, is Jesus Christ.

John 1:14 confirms this - And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

The D'var Hashem, The Word of God, is Yeshua - Jesus! And the D'var Hashem became flesh and made his sukkah or His Mishkan (Tabernacle) among us. Think about that for a moment. The body Jesus took on, had to be pure enough that his Divine Glory or presence (Shekinah) would be able to dwell in it. That is why Jesus was born of a virgin. If Mary and Joseph had conceived Jesus in the normal way He would have been born into a sinful body. But this couldn't happen because the Tabernacle or body Jesus took on, had to be free of sin or God's divine presence could not dwell there.

Now let's take this a little further. God went to all that trouble - to find a way here to walk among us, to house His glory - only to take the sins of the world upon Himself at the end of His earthly life. He who was without sin, became sin for us. Why? 2 Corinthians 5:21 makes it clear, "For He (God) made Him (Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (NKJV, emphasis mine).

God made Jesus who had no sin, to be a sin offering (chattat) on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Jesus. Imagine that! When God looks at someone who has claimed Jesus as their Saviour, He no longer sees their sin. Jesus has become the final Sin Offering. A sacrifice that is beyond measure. We have been forgiven. Our sins have been atoned for. The same Levitical offerings that were made in the Old Testament have come full circle and been fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
- Romans 8:1, NKJV

For You formed my inward parts;You covered me in my mother’s womb.I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.Marvellous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well.My frame was not hidden from You,when I was made in secret,and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.And in Your book they all were written,the days fashioned for me,when as yet there were none of them.
- Psalm 139:13-16

If you ever need encouragement about how involved God is with your life, read Psalm 139, the whole thing. King David, who wrote it, paints a positive picture of how much God knows us intimately, protects us, and is never far from us at all. This is a psalm you need to read especially if you think God isn't answering or hearing your prayers because it will encourage you to keep praying. Some might ask why we have to pray at all if God knows what we are going to say before we even say it (Psalm 139:4), but if we took that attitude we would miss out on intimacy with God, hearing Him when He answers, and the power of prayer in general.

When God answers our prayers we stand in awe and shout to the world - "Look what God did!" giving Him all the glory. It's only right that we should do that. After all, He is God. But sometimes, God doesn't answer prayer and we wait ... and we wait some more ... and during the whole time we are waiting for an answer, two things are going on. God is working behind the scenes to fulfill His will for your prayers and Satan is working behind the scenes as well. In fact, he is working overtime putting doubt and anger into our hearts and minds, especially when our prayers aren't answered right away, or they are answered but not in the way we want.

This is when maturity in your faith comes into play. First, you have to realize that God is going to answer your prayers, however, it might not be how you want them answered or when. God sees the big picture, you don't. He knows that in order for you to get the answer He feels is in your best interest, points A, B, and C have to be lined up first, in order for you to reach point D. In other words, there are other things going on in the spiritual realm that you know nothing about, so trust Him to do what is best. You can either accept that God heard you and leave it at that, or you can listen to the voices in your head that are making you doubt in God's love.

When I had my legs operated on six years ago I battled a dangerous infection (cellulitis and a super-bug (MRSA). The combination of these two infections was so bad I was put on the burn ward, lathered with some sort of cream and then bandaged from toe to thigh, like a mummy. My legs were swollen, hot and they literally looked like someone had poured scalding water on them. It was when the blisters started coming up and my skin became so tight because of the swelling that the pain increased so much that morphine was not working for me. I had one particular night that was horrible. I would say the pain was the worst I have ever experienced (that includes childbirth). My prayers were frantic pleas to God to make it stop, to send a nurse to sedate me so I didn't have to experience it. I also prayed that God would take me home. Clearly, I was beside myself with pain and my thoughts were all over the place.

Did God alleviate my pain? No. Did He send me a nurse to put me out of my misery? No. Instead, at my moment of deepest despair, of feeling alone in my pain, of being unable to bear it a moment longer, that I heard this in my mind, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" Jesus' cry from the cross. And in that moment, through my pain-filled haze I finally got why Jesus screamed that. It wasn't that he felt God had left Him, or was ignoring Him. It was a cry of despair. A cry of frustration. A cry that hid beneath it all the thoughts that were coming to the surface, bubbling over, with no way to control them. A cry of agony over the pain that was crushing him and threatening to swallow him up. The same kind of pain I was enduring.

"I'm so afraid, Lord. I feel alone in this, like no one understands."

"I cannot bear this anymore. When will it stop?"

"Are you there? Do you hear me? Please, let me feel your presence so that I know everything will be alright."

"How much longer Lord? I cannot bear it."

Of course, my pain was nowhere near what Jesus experienced. But the thing is - He experienced it. He understood my heartfelt cries completely and it was at that moment that I knew I wasn't alone and if my pain continued, I wouldn't like it, but I would be okay with it, because I knew there was a purpose behind it. God was allowing me to suffer to teach me to trust Him and to help me grow in my faith. Jesus' pain and His death had a purpose. A glorious purpose that freed us all from sin and the pain of death. Not physical death, but spiritual death, because to be separated from the Father forever would be agony.

A surgery that was meant to give me better mobility, ultimately did not work and due to the doctor's lack of knowledge about the underlying disease I had, he inadvertently damaged my lymphatic system beyond repair. Now I spend most of my day with my legs elevated to relieve the swelling and the pain that lives with me daily. I may never know this side of heaven if what I am going through today has any purpose. Right now, I can only see that I write more and blog more. I have four books out. I seem to always be writing. If I were able I would use my time differently. I would be volunteering somewhere or visiting with my friends. Maybe even cleaning my house (my least favourite thing to do, but now I would give anything to be able to do it). But, for now, I am to endure daily pain from an incurable disease and God has His reasons for this. And I'm okay with that.

If you are suffering right now and in pain, either physically, emotionally, mentally, or spiritually, you are not alone. God has never left you and He never will. He understands more than you could possibly imagine and He has a plan. Trust Him, something good will come out of this. And I hate to tell you this, by something good, I don't necessarily mean some wondrous thing is going to happen to you. You may be suffering because God is using you to reach another. How you behave during this difficult timemight be speaking volumes to someone else. Someone who needs to know God is real - who needs to know God can be trusted. Suffering, as difficult as this is for me to say because I live with it daily, may be your purpose in life. If it was, could you live with that? Could you still give God the glory and thank Him, even if you don't see anything good come from it? That's a hard thing to do. I know, because it is not an easy thing to be sick all the time. People often forget about you, especially when you are unable to attend church regularly. Phone calls stop, as do visits from people you've known for years. Being sick is lonely. The days are rare when you even feel well enough to get out of bed. But you push yourself because you know with every fibre of your being that God is present, aware of what you are going through and is working His will out in your life. Rest in that assurance until He comes again, or takes you home. Be a witness. Be strong. He loves you, He cares about you and He has not forsaken you. Your life is not without purpose and God will use it for His glory no matter what your circumstances.

Trust Him today with what you are going through. He's got you in the palm of His hand.

If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven,
and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
2 Chronicles 7:14

Throughout the week I like to look on the verse of the day on Biblegateway. I do this for two reasons - to help me focus on a particular scripture verse to memorize, and to read the entire chapter the verse is in, in order to keep it in context. I often find by doing this something else will jump out at me that God wants me to see so that I can write about it here.

The verse above comes after King Solomon had finished the Temple in Jerusalem. He and the people celebrated it's completion for twenty-three days, with offerings and sacrifices, music and praise. It was a joyful time and God had made His presence known by causing fire to come down from heaven to consume the burnt offerings (2 Chronicles 7:1). His glory filled the Temple and because it did, even the priests who were dedicated to Him could not enter the Temple. Try to imagine what that was like. Fire came down from heaven and this fire represented the glory of God. It completely filled the Temple and everyone who was there saw it, bowed with their faces to the ground and worshipped God. Imagine how you would be feeling if you had been there. Certainly you would be afraid. Fire from heaven is not a normal thing you see every day. You would also be in awe. You would be grateful, because as a person in that era, you would know about the gods of the other nations and you would now be comparing them to the Most High God. And you would realize without a doubt that there was only one God and all the rest were fake. You would also feel loved because the God of the universe had blessed your people by showing favour to you. The honour, the implications of that alone would be overwhelming. Would you ever be able to get off your knees?

But the day came when the celebrations ended and King Solomon sent everyone back to their homes. That night, God came to him and told him that He had heard his prayer (2 Chronicles 6) and reminded Solomon that He had chosen the Temple as a place for Himself, a house of sacrifice. Then He said:

When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place.For now I have chosen and sanctified this house, that My name may be there forever; and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually.
2 Chronicles 7:13-16

King Solomon knew that if he or the people sinned against God from that point forward, they would need to humble themselves, pray, seek God and turn from their sin in order for God to hear them and forgive them. Notice that the verse does not say "If I shut up heaven", but "When I shut up heaven", meaning, bad things would continue to happen in the world despite the fact that they were His chosen people.

We know sin has consequences and as history and the Bible would reveal, King Solomon led his people into sin by worshipping other gods. Due to this, other kings who came after Solomon continued to sin and because they did not repent, God did what He told Solomon He would do if there was unrepentant sin in the land:

But if you turn away and forsake My statutes and My commandments which I have set before you, and go and serve other gods, and worship them,then I will uproot them from My land which I have given them; and this house which I have sanctified for My name I will cast out of My sight, and will make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples.

“And as for this house, which is exalted, everyone who passes by it will be astonished and say, ‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land and this house?’ Then they will answer, ‘Because they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and embraced other gods,
and worshiped them and served them; therefore He has brought all this calamity on them.’” - 2 Chronicles 7:19-22

Unrepentant sin cannot go unpunished, but God in His infinite mercy would set a new plan in motion. He placed the punishment meant for all people on the shoulders of one man. His name was Jesus. He took our sin upon Himself and crucified it on a cross. By His stripes we are healed (Isaiah 53:5) and forgiven. He became the sacrificial lamb for all people. But it wasn't something to take for granted or a "get out of jail free card". We are still required to humble ourselves, pray, seek God and turn from our sin. Jesus Himself said in John 14:6, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

Today we live in an unrepentant world that has thrown the offering of salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord, back in the face of God. In fact, many in positions of church leadership, who profess to know the Lord are, like Solomon, leading their congregations astray. Some, in the name of tolerance, are agreeing that homosexuality is not a sin. They are approving of same-sex marriage and encouraging homosexuals to be leaders in the church. Others don't even bother to hide their beliefs and proclaim that they don't believe God is the only way, while continuing to preach from the pulpit. Still others have given themselves over to full-blown idol worship (FYI - they are singing about the goddess Sophia). Sophia in Greek means wisdom. She is honoured as a goddess of wisdom by Gnostics as well as by some neo-pagan, New Age, and feminist-inspired goddess spirituality groups. Her statue is still standing in a temple in Ephesus. Ephesus was one of the churches mentioned by the Lord in his letters to the seven churches of Revelation.

To these churches, God's Word no longer stands. The church, like the people during Solomon's day, are to set an example of faith in God and love toward others. We are not to approve of sin, nor participate in it. Jesus did not condemn the woman caught in adultery but told her to "Go and sin no more." Why is the church not following His example? We know from today's verses that unrepentant sin cannot go unpunished. The day of the Lord is coming soon. How will He find the church? Will we be in agreement that God's Word is the same yesterday, today and forever and therefore living our lives in obedience to it? Or will we be so worldly that He won't recognize us at all?

While reading Colossians 1:9-14 I was struck by the prayer the Apostle Paul prayed for the people of Colosse. He prayed that God would fill the people of Colosse with the knowledge of God's will, through the wisdom and understanding that the Holy Spirit gives (Colossians 1:9). Why did he pray for that in particular? He answers that in the rest of the verse. So that they may live a life worthy of the Lord and please Him in every way. By asking God to fill the people of Colosse with the knowledge of His will, Paul is asking for them to grow in their faith. And how do Christians grow? Through the wisdom and understanding the Holy Spirit gives. Where do we find wisdom and understanding? Through God's Holy Word. As we read it, the Holy Spirit opens our eyes, our ears, and our hearts to its message and we grow in the knowledge of God's will.

What happens when we pray specifically for the knowledge of God's will?

We learn tolive a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way.

We bear fruit in every good work.

Our knowledge of God grows deeper.

We become strengthened with God's power.

We have greater endurance and patience.

We learn how to joyfully thank our Father and praise Him in every situation.

He qualifies us to share in the inheritance He offers the Jewish people.

He rescues us from the dominion of darkness.

He brings us into the kingdom of His Son.

He redeems us.

He forgives us.

The more we read our Bibles, the more we grow in wisdom, and it is the Holy Spirit who grants us the knowledge to grow in God's will. So if you are ever wondering "how" to pray for someone, ask the Lord that they may grow in the knowledge of His will because it is a prayer that covers a lot.